Hanyuye

Profile:
 
- GPA: 2.1, top 20 US university, B.S. in neurobiology
- GRE: V 159 Q 162
 
3 years research in medical imaging
 
6 publications (1 first author review paper)
1 conference (first author) publication
 
1 more first author under review
 
Looking to apply to master's programs in bioengineering in a field relevant to my research area
 
I know ranking is not a solid basis, but it gives me a better picture of what schools I should be looking
 
Comments, criticisms appreciated

this thread is discriminatory against people with sub-2.0 gpas!!

Hello,
 
I got into a geology MS program  2 years ago (fully funded) with a 3.05 GPA in physics, though my GRE scores were a bit higher than yours. You can see my profile I got into an unranked program; masters programs with funding are competitive. 
 
I don't know if geology departments and resource departments are the same, but I would think you would be very lucky to get into any of those schools; "a lot of research experience" really means some research experience unless you have a publication. 
 
Those programs are more competitive than you think. I don't want to discourage you from applying. If you do apply to 13, you might get into one. 
 
You never know, but the people  at my unranked masters program had very high undergraduate GPAs and mediocre GREs.  I think there are probably ways to make your application more competitive, though, if you do get shut out. So as you prepare yourself for this upcoming cycle, remember that not getting accepted isn't the end and having a plan B often makes you more prepared to be successful in plan A.

I think whatever you cite as the cause of your bad grades, it's important to take responsibility for your actions and note that you have learned from the experience. Don't foist responsibility onto others, admit you may have made bad decisions but emphasize that you learned how to deal with bad situations and have become a stronger or smarter person because of it. Just don't say "oh, it was a freak accident and will never happen again." Demonstrate some self insight and say why you reacted the way you did and why you would not react that way now.

I know that there hasn't really been an update in this thread for about a month, but I wanted to come in and see how others think my resume/CV would help with my sub-3.0 uGPA.
 
Extenuating Circumstances: I always had a strained relationship with my parents, and they kicked me out of the house when I was 19 because my "way of life" (I'm not straight) didn't agree with theirs (oh and I'm hella liberal and they're not, too) so off I went into the world all by my onesy. I've been on my own for the past six years, two of which I was not in school because I was living permanently in the dorms when I was told by my university I had to pay a $6,000 hold on my account or I couldn't take any more classes. I failed a semester trying to find a place to live because I thought keeping a roof over my head was a wee bit more important than grades at  that time. I was out of school for two years because of this, trying to pay off the $6,000 slowly, which isn't easily done when you're working two jobs, on SNAP, and have to pay rent and utilities amongst other bills (cell phone, credit cards, etc.) So, now I have a 2.34 GPA, but I have two years of school left to boost my GPA. The returning semester (this past Spring) I earned a 3.73 for the semester and made Dean's List. So, do you think if I made that happen for the remaining semesters (3.7 or better to make Dean's List as well) would help, even if my overall GPA is less than stellar?
 
I plan on getting an M.A. in Art History and an M.A. in Museum Studies because I want to be a Curator (and then hopefully on to a PhD.) My experience as of now includes a Curatorial Apprenticeship Program through my University, an internship at the Delaware Museum of Natural History, an internship for a small theatre company where I'm creating a database for their costume collection, an upcoming internship I'll have for this school year with a foundation that runs an education program from their 17th century Swedish ship replica that landed in Delaware (with opportunity for research on boats they attained for a museum collection for when their museum opens since they have boats ranging from Antiquity to the Present, and my History concentration is Classics), along with a wealth of volunteer experience in place on and around my campus: UD Archaeology Lab, UD Historical Costume and Textile Collection, Iron Hill Museum Archaeology Festival, and I'm currently volunteering as a Gallery Monitor for the Newark Arts Alliance, a small non-profit that has rotating exhibitions, classes, and a gallery shop, which I pretty much baby-sit during regular hours.
 
Now, to the important part: Education. This will probably seem nuts to most of you, but I'm a triple major and a double minor. I came in as a Three Language Major, but I switched it when I got chucked out of my house because I started doing poorly when I was attempting to do French, Italian, and Japanese all at once when I was worrying about money. I switched my major to History/Classics and I began to excel in my classes. The reason I added English/Creative Writing later was because the University had dropped that major (which is why I hadn't claimed it in the first place) but when they brought it back, I claimed it because that's originally what I wanted my degree in originally but since I was halfway done my History major (and I was in the middle of taking Ancient Greek and Latin for it), I kept that as well. Recently, I realized if I took 9 more classes, I would qualify for an Asian Studies major with a Japanese concentration, so I claimed that as well.
 
Majors: History/Classics, English/Creative Writing, Asian Studies/Japanese Language Concentration
Minors: Art History and Theatre Studies
 
I am somewhat proficient in French and Italian, and do better in Japanese when speaking, but writing is a challenge. I studied abroad in Japan the summer after high school after being admitted into a prestigious exchange program. While I was in college, I studied abroad in the Winter in France and Italy. I have attended extra lectures and symposiums relevant to my studies (mostly pertaining to Ancient History) as well. I also completed the first Tier of a Leadership Program at my University.
 
Sorry for the verbose message! I just wanted to know how this would look next to a less-than-stella GPA and probably a GRE that won't be as good as I hope, as I don't do very well with standardized testing (ADHD and panic disorders do not assist with such things.) Please let me know what all of you think!   

I've been getting a little scared over my GRE scores, they're lower than what I expected. My quant score is especially disappointing- I expected a near-full score on the basis of both practice and the fact that I was reasonably confident in the exam itself. I don't want to retake because of how expensive it is for me, but I really am aiming for top-10. Specifically aiming for Stanford and Columbia U, but others too. Do you think it is a satisfactory score, or will the Quant score affect my application badly?
 
Thanks

P.S. Foreign student!
 

I kept meaning to add in on this threat.
 
I applied with a 2.47 GPA (I brought it up to 2.85 by graduation), and got into 4/5 of the MAs that I applied to (well, one was an MS), including a couple that are among the top in my field. I explained it in my SoP, and had outstanding supporting materials (strong LoRs, an assistantship on a journal, volunteering at a major conference, great GREs). Honestly, I think it comes down to convincing them that the student you will be for them is not the student you were when you got those bad grades. Obviously that's not going to help with schools that have instant cuts for certain GPAs, but I think most schools, if you look like a serious candidate, will at least see what you have going on.

I'm coming from a undergrad CS and math background and I've been admitted to various statistics programs and will most likely be attending cornell or columbia. How is the current job market with this degree? Is the market flooded and filled with applicants? Is it possible to obtain a job in something like finance and algo trading given my background?

I've been in Denver for a few years and completed my undergrad at that campus. You can find reasonably priced housing right by campus, but I'd go for a different neighborhood. Capitol Hill is probably the most culturally diverse with lots to do, though personally, I would recommend staying a couple blocks off Colfax Ave. I live a little over a mile south of that, near 1st a few blocks off Broadway, which is near the Baker neighborhood. It's pretty quiet, but there are great coffee shops, used book stores and neighborhood bars. There is the Santa Fe arts district, with some great galleries, but the neighborhood drops off as you go west from there. There's also the Highlands, which is northwest of downtown. Its a bit pricey, but there are great restaurants and lots more. You could probably find a room in either an apartment, or a cool house from the late 1800's in most of those areas starting around $450/mo, but $800 or so should be able to get you something fairly nice.

In Denver you're a 1 to 2 hour drive from world class skiing, hiking, mountain biking and all kinds of great outdoor activities. If you don't own a car, you can probably find rides with people to do stuff in the Mountains. While I would recommend owning a car, the transit is better than most US cities and a school ID gets you free light rail and bus. I only use my car once or twice a week and I could get by without it if I really wanted to. The light rail goes right by campus, as does the Cherry Creek bike trail and numerous bus routes. Campus parking is expensive and long walk from academic buildings, so its actually faster and cheaper to use mass transit or ride a bike.

Denver has mild weather. Snow rarely stays on the ground for more than a few days and average winter temps are in the 40's. There is a massive snowstorm once every two years. Summer is sunny, but its not that humid and rarely hits 100 (though its been hot lately. I don't like it when it hits 90). Rain usually doesn't last very long but can be very hard, and there is occasional hail.

Denver is a good food city (much better than LA where I lived for 2 years). The cuisine is influenced by New Mexico with great roasted and smoked peppers, but with the added advantage of being the most cosmopolitan place between Chicago and San Francisco. Hole in the wall Mexican food is cheap and good, and there are lots of nice restaurants. Also, I believe that Colorado microbrews are the best beers in the world. Most of them are not available outside the state. The music scene is so-so, but not bad. Boulder is about a half hour away, which is an actual college town and is worth checking out.  A lot of UCD faculty live there.

WHY ARE ALL THE APARTMENTS IN LONDON CARPETED?????!

Yayyyy, rejected from Rice with thesis! Another shot of Jack please!
 
Edit : Rejected for Professional masters program too! yayyy!! Tequilas on me!

Jonathan Spence's The Search for Modern China is the size of two bricks, and goes from late Ming to the 1990s. In my opinion, it is a wonderfully written overview of modern Chinese history, providing historical contextualization for the events of the 20th century. 
 
Disclaimer: I read Lieberthal's Governing China in an undergrad course, but I think it's a great introduction to the political history of the PRC.

Called VT today, I submitted my application about 10 minutes after the deadline, thinking that usually schools will accept it. But the system kicked me off (on their end, without me knowing about it) and my application was forwarded for spring admission.....What a waste of anxiety, just 10 minutes!

I'm not sure if you're a transplant or not but like I mentioned, I've lived in Brooklyn my whole life (minus some traveling time) and I used to go to school with lots of kids from Bushwick, Bed Sty, Sunset and Flatbush. These neighborhoods were THE ghetto. Some still are. Up until the late 90s, I would say, no one wanted to live in these areas because they were full of crime, drugs and (shock! black people and hispanics). It wasn't until the end of crazy Guiliani's term and big business Bloomberg  that lots of Manhattan started changing. Manhattan grew exponentially more expensive at an alarming rate, pushing all your young white students and young professionals out and over the bridges. With more and more white people moving into these areas and landlords upping the rents, it's pushing a lot of people in poverty out. Williamsburg was also a big ghetto. But now it's "trendy" - doesn't change the fact that the rent is crazy there, subway transportation is lacking, and that one only has to walk a few blocks to get to the worse off streets. The best bits about Williamsburg used to be the availability of big and cheap loft space. Now...not so cheap. 
Though now because of that wide amount of space and the influx of young whites, there's now big bars, big restaurants and art spaces. And the landlords get to charge crazy prices for those spaces, which all get past down to the people their in the exorbitant cost of restaurant food and rent. The same is going forward in Sunset and Crown Heights (the other side of the park) and parts of  Bushwick. But one only needs to scratch the surface to get underneath all that gentrification and into the poverty and crime. Bushwick is basically a slum. But if you want to live there, no one's going to stop you. Looking at the crime map - yes midtown has a lot of crime - mostly theft related. Not surprising considering all the tourists. 

i am in a similar situation to you, moderatedbliss - I went to a small, not very well-known or high-ranked private liberal arts college and will now be going to a top-ranked research university for my grad degree. For me, I'm much more in awe/worried that I am going to look stupid in a group of people who mostly attended more prestigious institutions for undergrad and are used to a more competitive environment. At my college I felt like I knew where I stood and when my work was good enough, but now I am a bit afraid that I will land in a group of people who are somehow much better than me and i won't be able to complete with them. Makes me a bit afraid to open my mouth! I know this is probably a silly thing to be worrying about, and I'm sure I'll feel better once I know where I stand after spending some time with the other grad students in my cohort. Right now I worry about being the DUMBEST person in the room and thus finding out that it's the wrong room

I mean its very hard to be successful in graduate school when you are paying for it. Most people try to go in and finish as fast as possible, that never happens. Geophysicis is good in that it could lead to a reasonably paying job, but in my experience friends have taken 3-8 months to find a job after graduate school. If you are international, you are outta luck then because you have the very real possibility of being deported after you spent (or likely taken out loans) at least 50k on a degree because from my understanding you only have a 3 month grace period to find a job after you graduate. Its a huge risk. It took a graduate in my lab a about 15 interviews(maybe 60-70 applications) before he finally found a job, and that was after moving to houston.
 
Thats not even counting the the stress of actually completing a degree. I suppose the one really good thing about self finance is that you dont have TA/RA responsibilities, but the stress of those jobs is far less then the stress of pinching pennies and worrying about rent. Every professor I have talked to has told me that if they really wanted me at a school they would find a way to finance me. I that is true.

Do. not. live. in. the. Bronx. 

It's actually a bit more complex than that, even if I want to agree with the sentiment. 

lol people with GPAs above 3.0 posting in this thread...

I was so worried about getting accepted. I had a 3.38 GPA and GRE scores of: verbal 153, quantitative 153, and analytical 4.5. My school involvement was limited to school recruitment and not much health related. The only health related course I had was over the past summer at Columbia. 
So far I have been accepted in my top programs, so I am happy. 

I don't freaking believe this.
 
I just added up all of my grades in my business class and it's an 89.9
 
I'm so pissed. Partly, because a lot of this class is subjective. We had a group project and essays on both of the exams.
 
Do you guys think the professor will round up? She really doesn't seem like a hard a$$. She also seems to like me and we had pretty good rapport. I'm really stressed though.

Nope, not even. No park is 'well-lit' , with 5.5 gigawatt lightbuls, it still wouldn't be safe, women still get attacked in these parks. Avoid parks at all costs in the wee hours of the night. 

I have a 2.6 and a low GRE (149, 143, 2.5). I really need the confidence, I'm also trying to go straight to a PhD. I got my undergrad a year ago from December. A master's degree seems like a waste of debt to me and my boss agrees with me. But I'm having a hard time deciding if I should wait another year or should I just go for it. Will the application process just be a waste of time for the time being? 

Jesus...where do I begin....
 
1.) Don't worry about whether you'll get into a PhD program this early in your undergraduate. For now, focus on improving your grades, studying hard, and maybe picking up some internships/research experience. You may have the GRE to worry about later too.
 
2.) GPA isn't everything. It's only one aspect of your application. Those people with perfect GPAs who got rejected, admissions probably saw something else in their application that they didn't like, i.e. irrelevant work & research experience, bad letter writers, bad impression during interviews, etc. 
 
3.) On top of that, different schools weigh GPA differently. Some schools look mostly at the last 60-90 units, others only major GPA, some science GPA, some look for improvement trends, etc.
 
4.) Calm down and enjoy your undergraduate years!

Would you consider taking a few night courses at your local community college or university? I suspect a couple geology courses (and maybe more chemistry or physics if you want to work for a petroleum company) would make for a little bit easier sell to programs. I think at least some of the schools you listed have more PhD-centric programs--they mostly aim for PhD students, even if they nominally offer an MS. If you do find a program that will accept you for an MS as a terminal degree, you will probably not be funded, so you'd need to pay tuition, which can be very pricey as an out of state student. While extracurriculars/hobbies are nice, I don't think anyone cares much for grad school, except perhaps as they demonstrate some other quality like leadership or ability to do independent research. Test scores are nice, but the least important aspect of a successfull application. Your personal statement and prior research experience/papers will be much more important. If you have not done laboratory or field research, perhaps you can volunteer with a local lab for a year or two?
 
Answering your questions specifically:
1. "Am I delusional here, or do I have a chance at some of these?"
As GeoDUDE! pointed out, these are top-tier geology schools, so your chances aren't as good as they could be if you can demonstrate research potential.

2. "What happens if I apply but I haven't taken any geo courses? "
You are unlikely to be accepted, but this all depends on the specific program and advisor, so you can target places where this will be less important. Conditional acceptances for graduate school are not something I've heard of. A bridge semester is highly unlikely. A MS is already very short, 1-2 years, and largely filled with coursework and research. There is no time to be playing catch up, and no one wants to pay for the extra time that takes--even if you are paying your tuition, the PI or department still has to sink a lot of money into you to cover research and overhead costs and will be losing money on you.
 
So in summary, I think you can make this happen if it is really important to you, but you need to play the long game. Applying this season is not likely to pan out.